Cigarette holder



Aug. 29, 1944.

CIGARETTE HOLDER Filed April 19, 1943 /,llIIlII //////lllllllllllllllll. i: 'rllllliril liiii W JAMES CHRISTENSEN INVENTOR.

J. CHRISTENSEN 2,356,971

Patented Aug. 29, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CIGARETTE! HOLDERJames Christensen, Englewood, Colo. Application April 19, 1943, SerialNo. 483,687

13 Claims. (01. 131-175) This invention relates to improvementsin-cigarette holders and has reference more-particularly to a cigaretteholder by means of which labor and material may be conserved.

It is well known that cigarettes are consumed E in immense quantitiesand that a large portion of each cigarette is wasted. Owing tothecarelessness of the smokers many fires are also started by the stubsthat are thrown away.

It is the principle object of this invention to produce a smokers deviceby means of which a big percentage of the tobacco will be saved andwhich will, therefore, conserve a corresponding percentage of the labornow used in raisingand processing the tobacco and manufacturing thecigarettes.

Another object is to produce an article of manufacture which will be agreat aid in preventing fires.

Another object is to produce a cigarette holder which will prevent ashesfrom being dropped onto carpets and furniture.

A further object is to produce a cigarette holder which will prevent theglow from being visible at night and which can therefore be smoked atnight by the soldiers on the front lines and during blackouts.

The above and any other objects that may become apparent as thisdescription proceeds are attained by means of a construction that willnow be described in detail and for this purpose reference will be had tothe accompanying drawing in which the invention has been illustrated andin which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the cigarette holder showing the same inoperative positions, a portion being broken away to better disclose theconstruction;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal diametrical section taken on line 22 Figure 4and shows the parts in partly assembled positions;

Figure 3 is a section similar to that shown in Figure 2 but shows theparts in fully assembled positions and shows the cigarette in placetherein;

Figure 4 is a transverse section taken on line 4-4 Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevation showing a latching means.

In the drawing reference numeral l0 indicates the two identical membersof which this device is composed. Each member consists of a mouthpiecell and a semicylindrical extension l2 that terminates in a chamferedsurface l3. Extensions l2 have concave inner surfaces l4 whichcomplement each other to form a cylindrical cavity for the reception ofthe cigarette l5. When the members l0 are in fully closed or operativepositions the chamfered end of-each member extends into the opening inthe other member in the manner shown in Figures 1 and 3. Themembers mayeach have a notch l6 and a projection I! so positioned that they willinterengage as shown in Figure 5, so as to resist separation.

It will be observed that each part I2 has an opening [8 and that betweenthis and the open end is a transverse semicircular partition l9 whosefunctions will presently appear.

The diameter of the chamber I4 is substantially equal to the diameter ofan ordinary cigarette and the distance between the concave surfaces 20,when the parts are in the positions shown in Figures 1 and 3, issubstantially equal to the length of a cigarette.

Let us now assume that a smoker is provided with a holder like thatdescribed and with a cigarette. He places one end of the cigaretteagainst the concave end wall 20 and rests it on the serrated edge ofpartition l9: He can then press down onto the cigarette directly overthe partition to partly cut the cigarette. The second half of the holderis now positioned so that the free end of the cigarette is in the recesswhose bottom has been designated by 20. V The partitions l9 will now bedirectly opposite each other as shown in Figure 2. Pressure is nowexerted, sufficient to cut the cigarette after which the parts [0 aremoved longitudinally from the positions shown in Figure 2 to that shownin Figure 3, in which positions the two parts become latched asindicated in Figure 5. This latch may be replaced by some equivalentmeans and by properly tapering the surfaces l3 it may be that themembers will be held in operative positions by friction alone.

As the two members are moved from the position shown in Figure 2 to thatshown in Figure 3 the partitions will tear the cigarette apart andcompress the parts into the shortened spaces between the partition IS onone member and the surface 20 of the other member. The parts are nowready for smoking.

The smoker inserts one mouthpiece into his mouth and sucks and at thesame time holds a flame adjacent one or both openings l8 whereupon theflame will be sucked into the chamber and ignite the cigarette. Afterone half has been consumed the other half is lighted in a similar wayand smoked. The ashes are retained in chamber l4 until the parts areseparated. The glow from the burning cigarette is positioned entirelywithin th holder and can be seen only on close inspection; the cigarettecan therefore be smoked at any time without much danger of the glowbeing seen by an enemy.

It is evident that by means of this device the entire cigarette can beconsumed, which is impractical when cigarettes are smoked in theordinary way.

Since less tobacco will be consumed for the same amount of smoking muchlabor will be saved, thereby releasing more men and women for theessential war industry.

The holder can be made from any incombustible material such as one ofthe many synthetic plastics now available, or of metal, the latter maybe available in the future. Any suitable material can be used.

Attention is called to the fact that the members 10 are duplicates andthat only a single mold is therefore required for the two.

What I claim as new is:

1. A cigarette holder formed from two substantially identical memberseach having a mouthpiece at one end and a semicylindrical part having aconcave inner surface, at the other end, the two semicylindrical partsbeing adapted to cooperate with the mouthpieces to form a cylindricalchamber for the reception of a cigarette, at least one of thesemicylindrical parts having an opening positioned substantially at itsmiddle to admit air for combustion.

2. A holder fOr cigarettes and the like, comprising a tubular bodyformed from two substantially identical members, each of which has a.mouthpiece at one end and a semicylindrical, internally'concave part atthe other end, the end of the mouthpiece facing the semicylindrical parthaving an outwardly flaring inner surface, the end of thesemicylindrical member having a tapered surface adapted to enter themouthpiece and engage the outwardly flaring surface to form a seal, theconcave surfaces of the semicylindrical parts forming, when th parts arein assembled relation, the wall of a chamber adapted to receive andenclose a cigarette, the wall of a semicylindrical part having an airinlet opening at substantially its middle point.

3. A cigarette holder in accordance with claim 2 in which the twosemicylindrical parts are each provided on their concave side with atransverse partition positioned between th air inlet and the taperedend, for cutting a cigarette and holding the out part in a predeterminedposition relative to the mouthpiece, the partitions being normallylongitudinally spaced.

JAMES CHRISTENSEN.

